The most solemn part of the Mass in which the Sacrificial Act proper takes place, the Consecration and change of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. It begins with an oblation and prayer for all the faithful, followed by commemorations of the living, and of the saints, a renewal of the oblation, the Consecration, a further offering of the consecrated species, a commemoration of the departed, recommendation of the priest and clergy, the little oblation, the Our Father, invocation to the Lamb of God, prayers before the Communion, and the consumption of the sacred species. In certain liturgies it is called the Action of the Mass, because during it the great Act of Sacrifice occurs. The essential part, the Consecration, has always been the same from the time of the Apostles. The present arrangement of the ceremonies and prayers dates with very slight change from the 6th century.

MLA Citation

“Canon of the Mass”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info. 20 August 2010. Web. 31 March 2015. <http://catholicsaints.info/canon-of-the-mass/>